Squirrels have been kept as pets since antiquity, becoming especially popular during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance — a trend that lasted until the early 19th century.
Benjamin Franklin even wrote an elegy in memory of a friend’s fallen pet squirrel — a thread 🧵
Squirrels were popular household pets, particularly among children, in 18th- and 19th-century America.
They were so beloved that in 1772, Benjamin Franklin wrote an elegy for the beloved squirrel of his friend Georgiana Shipley...
While on a diplomatic journey in Europe, Franklin brought along a gray squirrel, which he later gifted to Georgiana, the young daughter of a friend.
The squirrel, named Mungo, became a beloved pet and companion of the girl and her family.
A few years later, Mungo got out of the house and was sadly killed by a shepherd's dog.
When Franklin learned of Mungo's passing, he penned a letter of condolence to Georgiana, lamenting the premature loss of her cherished companion...
Franklin celebrated the life of the transatlantic rodent with the following words:
"I lament with you most sincerely the unfortunate end of poor Mungo: Few squirrels were better accomplish’d; for he had had a good education, had traveled far, and seen much of the world."
In his letter, Franklin commemorated Mungo's life with a moving elegy titled:
"On the Loss of Her American Squirrel, who, Escaping from His Cage, was Killed by a Shepherd’s Dog."
Following the loss of Mungo in September 1772, Franklin reached out to Georgiana with a kind proposal:
"If you wish it, I shall procure another to succeed him."
Georgiana accepted the offer, and Franklin sent another gray squirrel that thrived and lived a long life.
In a letter dated May 1779, Georgiana fondly updated Franklin on the new squirrel:
"The American Squirrel is still living and much caress’d; poor fellow! He is grown quite old and has lost his eye-sight, but nevertheless preserves his spirits and wonted activity."
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From Benjamin Franklin to Georgiana Shipley, 26 September 1772
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